Promotional refrigerator magnets are a simple, inexpensive giveaway that is associated with pizza delivery more than heart surgery, but that may change. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal showcased a little magnet that made a big difference in the lives of heart attack victims. In this case, the magnet simply had a checklist of heart failure symptoms and a place to put the name and phone number of the patient’s doctor.

As hospitals work to improve the quality and consistency of care it has often been surprising how effective low-tech solutions like checklists can be. In this case, the magnets were part of a larger effort to decrease readmissions by increasing the level of instruction and attention given outside the hospital. With almost 18% of Medicare patients being readmitted within 30 days of a hospital discharge, programs like this are able to have a surprising impact on the quality of care, and reduce costs dramatically. Some statistics show that almost half of readmissions could be prevented. That’s a lot of good from a little magnet!